Irish's eyes on O'Leary

Georgia Tech coach reportedly their No. 1 pick

December 09, 2001|By Avani Patel, Tribune staff reporter.

After being turned down by several of the reported "leading candidates," there were indications Saturday night that Notre Dame was leaning toward Georgia Tech's George O'Leary as its next football coach.

A Notre Dame group, including athletic director Kevin White, was in Atlanta over the weekend, apparently to interview O'Leary. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper reported that O'Leary would meet with his Georgia Tech players Sunday, then travel to South Bend to be introduced as the Irish coach on Monday.

ESPN's Mike Golic, a former Notre Dame football player, also reported that O'Leary was the choice.

Georgia Tech athletic director Dave Braine had no comment on the reports, and Notre Dame officials could not be reached for comment. The Irish are seeking a successor to Bob Davie, who was fired last week after five seasons.

O'Leary, a silver-haired 55-year-old, just completed his seventh season as Georgia Tech's coach with a 52-33 record. His best season was 1998, when Tech went 10-2, shared the Atlantic Coast Conference championship with Florida State and beat Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl.

He has been ACC coach of the year twice and national coach of the year in 2000, when Tech went 9-3 in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. He is regarded as a defensive specialist, but his Tech teams have averaged more than 37 points per game over the last four seasons.

Tech was a somewhat disappointing 7-5 this season and will play Stanford in the Seattle Bowl on Dec. 27, its fifth consecutive bowl appearance under O'Leary.

A native of Central Islip, N.Y., O'Leary graduated from the University of New Hampshire and began his coaching career at Central Islip in 1968. He moved to Syracuse in 1980, then coached under Bobby Ross at Georgia Tech and with the San Diego Chargers before becoming Tech's head coach in 1994. He is married to the former Sharon Littlefield. They have four children.

The pool of Notre Dame candidates grew progressively smaller during the week as NFL coaches Steve Mariucci of the San Francisco 49ers and Jon Gruden of the Oakland Raiders withdrew. From the college ranks, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Oregon coach Mike Bellotti also denied interest.

At the news conference announcing Davie's dismissal last week White said, "We are going to look for the very best head coach we can find: Somebody with head-coaching experience, somebody who has a strong track record of success and somebody who would certainly be a great institutional fit here at Notre Dame."

O'Leary is an Irish Catholic who will fit in well at Notre Dame. But it is not clear if O'Leary is a big enough name to satisfy the restless Notre Dame nation.

On Friday, one veteran Irish player said, "If they're not going to hire Gruden, they should have just kept Bob."

O'Leary's most recent contract at Tech, signed late last year, went into effect on Jan. 1, 2001. It is a six-year rollover deal that includes a base salary of $300,000, with the total package valued at $1.1 million.

O'Leary's previous contracts included a clause allowing him to leave for the NFL or Notre Dame without a buyout. He jettisoned that clause in this contract, meaning Notre Dame would presumably have to fork over $1.5 million--the base salary for the five years left on the deal--to buy out the contract.